


The Norn's Mockery

by TallyDubh



Category: Thor (Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Angst, Clothed Sex, F/M, If I missed any tags please let me know, Self-Hatred, Soulmate-Identifying Marks, Thor is a fool, Vaginal Fingering, Vaginal Sex, soulbond
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-05
Updated: 2018-07-26
Packaged: 2019-06-05 16:01:31
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 13,127
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15174284
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TallyDubh/pseuds/TallyDubh
Summary: Thor and his soulmate have been together for five years. Yet they still aren't married. When she tries to hide how upset she is with why they aren't, it blows up in his face.





	1. Chapter 1

The door to their chambers crashed open, banging against the wall and bouncing back. Elena wasn’t worried, about the walls or the door slamming into them. It was a common occurrence, and as always, Thor caught it with one hand. Their kiss never broke, even as he sidestepped the door and swung it closed behind them. 

Elena was wrapped around him like a vine, her gown rucked up over her thighs so she could wrap her legs around his waist. Her hands buried in his hair as her tongue swept into his mouth to flick across his teeth. Thor’s hand on her ass flexed, a deep groan like thunder coming from his chest. She gave him a moan of her own in answer as the sound vibrated against her nipples. 

Rocking her hips, she finally broke the kiss to throw her head back as the bulge of his erection ground into her core. His lips and teeth were instantly on her throat, raining open-mouthed kisses on her sensitive skin. Elena gasped at the scratching of his beard, her hands tugging on his hair. 

Thor followed the tugging, letting her pull his head back so she could kiss him again as he made his way to their bed. Elena nipped at his lower lip, catching it with her teeth and tugging gently. Another roll of thunder was her answer as Thor knelt on the bed. She didn’t let go of him, just caught his eyes and tried to catch her breath. 

They’d been together for years and still, he looked at her with such love in his eyes. Looked at her like she was the greatest treasure in his life. It was unsurprising if she thought about it. He’d waited to find his soulmate, the person with his mark on their skin, for more than a millennium. 

“Elena…  _ elska min _ … my love,“ Thor whispered, one large hand sliding up her back to cup the back of her neck. She melted into his touch, sighing as his thumb trailed over her jaw. A shiver ran through her when his lips found her throat again. His beard tickled as he trailed kisses down her throat. When his lips hit her necklace he skipped over it, nosing the large flat stone out of the way so he could press sucking kisses to her collarbone. Whips of pleasure shot through her, and she tugged at his hair again when his lips met the edge of her gown. 

“Thor… Beloved… I need you,” She gasped out. Groaning, she rocked her core against his erection again. The world tilted as Thor fell forward, dropping her back to the furs that covered their bed. He caught himself on his elbows, his mouth never leaving her skin as he flicked his tongue along the neckline of her gown. 

“You have me,  _ elska min _ ,” Thor nearly moaned against her skin. She whined when she felt him ruck her skirt up higher. Rough, thick fingers found the soft skin of the back of her thigh. Rocking her hips, she tried to press further into that light touch as it skimmed up her leg. She only succeeded in dragging the leather of his pants over her slick core. A button holding them closed dragged roughly over her clit and she threw her head back with a sharp cry. 

Thor laughed, a dark wicked sound that rumbled through her, as he found that she’d worn no undergarments to dinner. Elena’s eyes snapped open, a long drawn out moan leaving her when his thumb slipped inside her. His hand disappeared a moment later, and when she could focus her eyes again she found his thumb in his mouth, a look of dark lust on his face as he looked down at her. 

Panting, Elena met his gaze for a moment before grinning. With a twist of her hips, her legs locked tight around his waist, she overbalanced him and he fell with a grunt to the bed. It took only a moment to untangle her legs from him. Thor was just starting to sit up when she planted her hand on his shoulder and shoved. He landed on his back with a laugh as she straddled his knees. 

“I need you inside me, beloved.” She growled. Thor tried to catch her hand when it fell to the fastening of his pants, but she swatted his hands away. He laughed again, but let his hands fall to his sides as she finally got the first button open. Making quick work of rest of them, she pulled the leather apart. 

His erection came free at last. Hard, thick and long it oozed precum already. Elena’s mouth watered at the sight, but she resisted the urge to take him in her mouth. She wanted him somewhere else far more than she wanted to take him apart with her mouth. She didn’t want to wait for him to push his pants down, she didn’t want to wait to remove her gown. He’d been teasing her all through the feast, barely there touches to her throat, gentle kisses, playing with her necklace as he whispered all the things he wanted to do to her. All of it had set her into a froth, leaving her thighs slick with her arousal. 

Holding her skirt out of the way, she walked up his body on her knees. 

The first touch of his cock against her soft folds had them both groaning. Elena settled her weight on his hips, trembling when the tip of his cock rubbed against her clit. His hands found her thighs under her skirt as soon as she was settled, thick fingers digging in as she rocked against him. Blinking her eyes open, not knowing when they’d slid closed, she felt drugged by the pleasure rolling through her body. It was exquisite, but not enough, not nearly enough. 

It took only a shift of her hips, a slightly different angle, to have him sliding inside her. Thor’s hands tightened on her legs as she sank over him. Slowly, rocking her hips to help ease him in an inch at a time, Elena kept her eyes on his face. It was always such a wonderful thing to see, to watch him get lost in her body. His eyes shuttered, his neck and jaw straining as he held himself back. Such control, such strength and he held it all in check so his little mate could take what she wanted from him. 

She was panting by the time he’d bottomed out, filling her almost to the point of too much. Her hands landed against his chest, his breastplate cool under her fingers as she sank into the feeling of him inside her. His hands relaxed, stroking over her skin as she adjusted. 

A heady moan left him when she began to rock. She echoed the sound, the slick slide of him through her clenching walls punching the sound out of her. Elena let herself get lost in the sensations, and before long she was nearly bouncing on him, chasing an orgasm that was rushing toward her. His pants chafed against her inner thighs, the rough seams a delicious counterpoint to the warm soft leather. His calluses caught against her skin, soft little tugs that left gooseflesh in their wake. The crown of his cock dragged tightly against the sweet spot inside of her, while his pelvic bone ground into her clit on every downstroke. 

She’d become so lost in what she was feeling that when his thumb landed on her clit it took only one firm circle to have her flying. Pleasure like lightning sizzled through her veins as her back arched. Even through the pounding of her blood in her ears, she could hear her shriek echo off the walls of their chambers. 

Elena cried out a second time when the world tilted, and then Thor was moving inside her, over her as she found herself on her back under him. His hands were hot brands on her hips as he lifted them to meet his thrusts. And still, she came. Every thrust of his cock through her walls had pleasure searing through her, leaving her to gasp out whimpers as her voice failed. 

It took only a handful of thrusts through her clenching walls before Thor pressed as deep as he could and roared out his own release. Elena felt the wet, hot flood of his seed inside her and felt a second, smaller orgasm layer over the one she was barely coming down from. 

Lifting her arms sluggishly, she beckoned him to her. He came, curling over her to drape his bulk over her frame. Barely a fraction of his weight against her, but the feeling of being surrounded by him had her sighing out a pleased noise. Elena settled her hands on his head, finger-combing his silky hair as he pressed his forehead to her shoulder. He was still hard inside her, still clutching her hips to his.

Nudging him with her nose, she was rewarded with a slow, sweet kiss when he lifted his head. They continued to kiss, sweet drugging kisses that dragged out until they’d calmed. She expected him to continue now that the first rush of passion had abated, but he pulled away instead. Before she could call him back, he’d stood and began to remove his armor. Though she didn’t want to move just yet, she did, following his example as she began to pull at the lacing of her gown. 

It pooled at her feet when she rose from the bed, a puddle of red satin. Like blood on the hard stone of the floor. Her legs trembled, but she relished the feeling as she watched Thor divest himself of his clothing. When only his pants remained he reached for her again. 

And killed another piece of her heart when a rush of heat pooled in her belly. His magic spread through her womb, destroying any chance of a babe catching in her. Swallowing the sob that rose in her throat she slid out of his reach. Elena was proud of how steady her hand was when she reached for her robe, was proud that her breathing and heart rate stayed even. Her eyes burned, but her back was to him. He wouldn’t see the tears gathering there. 

“Elena?” His soft voice was concerned and it made her heartache. Biting her lip to keep the tears at bay, she spoke softly. None of the pain that was tearing through her veins was in her voice, and she felt relief fill her. 

“I am tired, Beloved. I’m going to finish getting ready for bed.” She turned to give him a soft smile over her shoulder, hoping he couldn’t see the pain in her eyes. His soft smile was answer enough. She waited as he closed the distance between them, returned his kiss when he bent. Watched him walk back to the bed, stretching his arms over his head. 

They’d been together for years now, and in that time she’d perfected the art of keeping her emotions from him. He was her soulmate, her perfect match, yet they were not married. Asgardian laws dictated that without a child between them, they could not wed. Soulmate or not, until she became pregnant they could not wed. 

The soulbond between them was strong, bound them in ways that marriage never would. But she was not from this world, she had been born and raised in Midgard. There, marriage was… not the end all be all of commitment, but it was important. Or at least it was to her. 

Settling on the plush stool in front of her vanity, she worked the pins from her hair. She knew that it wasn’t just marriage that she wanted. She wanted his child. Want a child of her own, a family of her own.

When they’d met she had been utterly alone in the world. An orphan from a young age, she had no family. Few people she’d call friends and even those she kept at a distance. Finding him at the lowest moment in her life, as flood waters tore her home to pieces around her, had been bittersweet. When he’d brought her here to live, had introduced her to his parents and his court as his ‘betrothed’ she had thought she would have everything with him. 

That had been five years ago. 

Elena had to remind herself, forcefully, that Asgardians lived longer than humans. That perhaps to him it would not feel like it had been such a long time. What were five years to a being who lived well into the thousands? A drop in the sea of his life, that’s what five years were. 

When the last pin was free from her hair, when the dark curls had fallen in a cascade over her shoulders, she found that the trembling had started in her hands. Taking a deep breath, she steadied them and reached for the clasp of her necklace. 

Rough fingers reached it first, and she started when she looked into her mirror. Thor was kneeling behind her, still impossibly taller than her. Their eyes met and she knew that she hadn’t hidden everything from him. Concern, worry, and pain filled his blue eyes, and she looked away. Down at her lap where her hands had fallen. 

“I can feel your pain,  _ elska min _ . Why do you hide it from me?” Thor asked. There was a hard edge to his voice and Elena flinched. She had let her turmoil slip through their bond, hadn’t kept as tight a grip on it as she’d thought. Opening her mouth to say something, to tell him how much it hurt every time he used that bit of magic on her, she stopped. 

There were many in court who whispered things when they thought she couldn’t hear. When they knew that Thor couldn’t hear them. The words ‘half-breed’, and ‘mongrel’ echoed in her mind. An old fear, one that she’d thought she’d banished completely resurfaced and she closed her mouth with a click. Perhaps Thor didn’t want a child with her, perhaps he thought that any child born of her would be… inferior. 

“It doesn’t matter, Beloved. Just female silliness.” She said. Instead of pouring her heart out about her want of a child, instead of telling him exactly why her heart bleeds and her soul screamed. Her hands shook as she lifted her hairbrush. His hand closed over her own before she could bring it to her hair. Lifting her eyes from where they’d been staring blankly at her own reflection she gasped at what she saw. 

He’d risen to his feet, was leaning over her, boxing her in. Lightening filled his eyes, and his teeth were bared in a snarl of rage. She didn’t fear him, had never feared him. Even now, as he towered over her she simply met his gaze with a bland expression on her face. 

“You would lie to me? Blatantly, no less.” Thor snapped, letting go of her hand to pace away from her. “I can feel what you feel, Elena. Our souls are bound together, and there is no hiding from me. Yet, you try to, and when I ask after what has you so upset you lie to my face.” 

Ice filled her belly as rage rose to replace the pain in her heart. He was angry at her, was yelling at her because she had not wanted to pressure him into something he obviously didn’t want. 

Elena slammed her brush down on her vanity table and spun on the stool to face him. Years of work, of keeping it all held close and away from him, crumbled into ash as the floodgates opened to destroy them. 

“Yes! I would lie to you over it. I hide my pain because it is your doing! Would you like to feel it, Thor? To feel what I feel every time you make certain that no half-breed mongrel catches in my womb?!” She yelled. The tears that had been burning in the back of her eyes were rolling down her cheeks as she rose to her feet and advanced on him. The look of shock on his face did not stay her hand as she gripped their soulbond in her mind and flung it wide open. 

She let the pain rise, the feelings of ‘not enough’, the longing and disappointment that filled her. Thor dropped to his knees and groaned as one hand came to his chest over his heart. Elena didn’t stop. She stood in front of him, with his useless seed trickling down her thighs, and she bared every moment of pain and anguish she had felt over the last five years to him. Laid it all at his feet before she spoke again. 

“Now do you understand, Thor? Do you understand why I hide it from you? I am well aware that I am not enough. I hide the death you deal to my soul every time we fuck because it is all I am allowed to have of you.” The truth of those words had the rage that had rushed up draining away, and a broken sob wrenched its way out of her throat. 

When he reached for her, she retreated. Turning, she blindly rushed into the washroom and closed the door behind her. The lock turned over with a click that was too loud, too final. She was deaf to it as more sobs rose in her throat. Elena ripped the robe from her shoulders as she stumbled into the sunken tub. The hot water, water that never cooled and never seemed to need replacing, scorched her cold skin. 

Sobbing openly now, her hands trembling so badly she dropped the cloth several times, she cleaned between her legs. His magic was a heavy weight in her belly, a reminder of all the things that were wrong with her. The rune on her wrist, the mark that declared her his soulmate, mocked her. The Norns had branded her with the word ‘family’, but she was doomed to never have one. 

 


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was not intending to continue this. But my muse had other ideas. There's more to come, but I have no idea when I'll be uploading it. I hope you enjoy.

Elena knew that her outburst would destroy them. It was why she hadn’t said anything to Thor in the first place. She didn’t know what his reasoning behind any of it was, she might have been forgiving if he’d explained it to her. But that was not meant to be. 

When she’d come out of the washroom more than a week ago, she’d found Thor gone. She hadn’t laid eyes on him since. She’d stayed in their chambers for two days, having meals brought to her, before Frigga had found her. The Queen had taken one look at her pale face and red-rimmed eyes and had barged into the room. 

“What has my fool of a son done this time?” Frigga had asked. Elena lasted all of three seconds before the tears had come once again. She’d wound up with her head in Frigga’s lap, forcing the words out between the sobs, while Frigga had petted her hair. The words had run out long before Frigga had left, in fact, Elena woke from the tear induced nap to find Frigga gone. She was in the bed, a light blanket covering her. 

Something about the interaction between the queen and her had given her more strength than she’d thought she had. Enough strength to bathe, dress and join the others for dinner. She hadn’t sat next to Thor as she would have normally. Instead, she’d taken the seat on the other side of the long table, displacing Loki from his normal seat at Frigga’s elbow. The Trickster had raised an eyebrow at Elena but had bowed to her and gone to sit with the other Sorcerers at their table further down the hall. 

Thor’s gentle entreaty of her name had been ignored. She’d caught the icy glare that Frigga had sent to him out of the corner of her eye. Apparently, she had an ally in this. Elena and Frigga had spoken throughout dinner, the soft conversation about the herb garden that Elena had started growing not long after she’d moved to Asgard. Plants were a passion of Elena’s and she had spent the last five years trying to get some of the Midgardian herbs that she loved to grow here. 

That night’s dinner had set the routine for the rest of the week. Elena went to bed alone, only seeing Thor at meals. Frigga and Loki helped her keep a distance between them. Loki never asked questions as to why she was doing so, simply took her normal seat next to Thor at meals and left his open for her. She wondered, once or twice, if Frigga had explained things to him, or if he was simply game for whatever would make Thor squirm. 

And Thor did squirm. Every time he tried to catch Elena’s attention Frigga would be there with a sharp comment or an icy glare. And if it wasn’t Frigga, then it was Loki, appearing out of thin air to occupy Elena with a question about her plants. Odin seemed confused about the sudden change between the previously happy couple, but he asked no questions either. Elena felt guilt for the look of pain on Thor’s face every time she’d catch him looking at her. Guilt would surge every time she felt the loneliness and despair that would trickle through the soulbond. A soulbond that she had shut down at tightly as she could. 

Though it was horrible to be away from him, away she stayed. Lonely wasn’t an emotion she’d felt since she’d come to Asgard, but it was a companion to the pain that lived in her heart. It was easier than being with Thor, being able to touch and taste but being denied the thing that her heart wanted most of all. Lonely was an old friend, one that she’d hoped to never spend time with again, but one that she was familiar with. 

All of it came crashing down around her head in the end. 

A week after that horrible night, Thor came to her when she was utterly alone. She was in her garden, pulling weeds and trying to coax one of her plants into life when a shadow fell across her. Elena sat back on her heels and raised one hand to her forehead to block the sun. And there was her soulmate, standing there. He was backlit but the afternoon sun, casting his face into shadows that her eyes couldn’t see through, hiding his expression from her. Ice filled her veins because she knew there was no one here to interrupt, that this conversation was going to happen no matter that she didn’t want to have it. 

“Is there something I can help you with, Your Highness?” Elena asked, trying to keep the dread out of her voice. She succeeded, but only because her voice came out flat and hollow. Thor flinched at the title, one that she’d never used with him before that moment. She didn’t know why she’d used it, didn’t know why she was distancing herself from him as far as she was. He was her soulmate, was bound to her in a way that would never go away. 

The pain of what he’d done filled her again, and she could almost feel the heavy weight of his magic in her womb for a fleeting second. The blow that he dealt to her heart every time he used it on her. The fierce want in her heart for a child. It was enough to have her wavering resolve steadying. He’d hurt her worse than anyone else in her past ever had, and when she finally broke and told him about it he’d run. Had disappeared from their chambers and her life. This wasn’t on her, it was on him. 

Thor crouched before settling onto his knees. She appreciated it, her neck straining to look up at him. Finally, she could see his face and her heart clenched at it. He looked like shit, to put it mildly. She hadn’t been aware that Asgardians could look tired, but Thor did at that moment. Heavy bags under his eyes showed that he’d slept as little as she had this last week. He was pale, his hair stringy as if he hadn’t washed it, his beard scraggly on his face. 

“I… wanted to apologize. I should not have left as I did. And I should not have stayed away,” Thor said. His voice was almost as hollow as hers had been, but there was an undercurrent of pain there that she’d been able to hide. 

None of it mattered because the cold rage of that night was back, filling Elena at his words. 

“That is what you are apologizing for? For running away and staying away?” She snapped. Rising to her feet, she stood over him, glaring down her nose. Thor stared at her for several long seconds before he rose as well. 

“What would you like me to say,  _ elska min _ ?” Thor asked. The pain in his voice was gone, replaced by anger. 

“Do not call me that. I am not ‘your love’. Not when I am clearly not worthy to bear your children.” Elena snapped, crossing her arms over her chest. She watched his eyes widen a little at her words, and his mouth opened several times as he tried to speak. Elena deflated, her arms dropping to her sides as all the energy drained out of her. She was just too tired to face this.

“Forget it, Your Highness. I think I understand just fine. If you’ll excuse me, I’m suddenly tired.” Elena dropped a curtsy to him before going to move around him. The rage was gone, leaving behind only an echoing emptiness where their bond should be. She could feel it straining between them as she stepped around him, and she wondered how much more it could take before it snapped. Would she lose him entirely? Was it even possible to break a soulbond? 

A heavy hand wrapped around her upper arm, stopping her from moving passed Thor. Elena looked at the hand for a long moment before it was removed. When she looked up at Thor’s face she found lightning in his eyes once more, and a trickle of that Berserker rage came through the bond. 

“Who has made you think that you are so unworthy? I would know their names, so that I may set them straight on this.” Thor growled. Elena studied his face, wondering if he was serious. Could he truly be that blind? After a moment she sighed and shook her head. 

“You need only look as far as a mirror, Thor.” She murmured before walking away. He didn’t follow her, of which she was grateful. She didn’t want him to see the tears on her cheeks. 

She thanked The Norns that no one saw her as she made her way back to their chambers. Though at this point it may be more accurate to call them hers. He hadn’t set foot in them for a week, and it didn’t appear that he would ever return. 

***

Thor hesitated before knocking on the door in front of him. His mother had not been approachable these last few days. It wasn’t hard to see why she would be so angry with him. In truth, he was angry with himself. How had everything gone so wrong? How had he not seen how he was hurting Elena with his reluctance? 

A maid opened the door before he could question himself further and after a moment escorted him into his mother’s private study. Frigga looked him over with a cool eye before speaking. 

“Ladies, I need to have a private conversation with my son. If you’ll excuse us, please?” Frigga asked. The six other ladies set aside their needlework and books and stood. After hasty curtsies to both of the royals, they filed out. Thor waited until the last was gone and the door was closed before he approached his mother. 

She had set her own needlework to the side and was watching him with a raised brow. He knew that look, it was one that she’d leveled on him before. Disappointment was a harsh look on her face, though it did nothing to reduce the beauty of her features. He sat in the chair she indicated and stared at his hands as he tried to find the words. 

“I.. do not know what to do, Mother,” he finally said. His mother remained quiet for a moment before she spoke. 

“Have you spoken with her?” Frigga asked. Thor sighed and finally lifted his eyes to hers. 

“I tried. She is angry still. I apologized, but it does not seem enough.” Thor said. Loneliness pounded against him, and the echoing emptiness from the bond had his chest aching. Without thinking about it he’d begun to rub over his soulmark. It was a glaring mockery to him, there on his left wrist. 

“What did you apologize for?” Frigga asked. There was something there in her eyes, some knowledge that he’d once again done something wrong. 

“For leaving that night. I should never have done so.” Thor said. Frigga scoffed and shook her head. 

“You are a fool,” Frigga said, that icy glare back on her face once more. He’d seen it directed at him more and more over the last days. The glare and the words were like a slap to the face and Thor rocked back in the chair. Frigga sighed and shook her head. 

“Why have you denied her a child? It is her right as your wife to bear your children.” Frigga asked. Thor reeled at the sudden change in the conversation but knew better than to question his mother’s motives behind such things. He knew that his mother would lead him by the nose to the heart of the matter, so he went without question. 

“I am… afraid. She is mortal, Mother. I am scared that carrying my child will kill her.” Thor said it softly. He had never said it aloud before, had not wished to tempt the Norns with his greatest fear. 

“Do you honestly think that I or your aunt would allow such a thing to happen? You have so little faith in us, My Son. But that is not the whole of it, is it?” Frigga said. Thor stared at her for a long time before admitting the last of it.

“Father has said that when I marry he will step down. I am not ready to be King.” Thor said. He felt the lowest sort of coward as the words fell from his mouth. Such a selfish thing to keep him from giving Elena what she wanted. 

Frigga was silent for a long time after that. Simply looked him over as he stewed in his shame. How much pain and hurt had he dealt to his soulmate for such a little thing as fear? He’d driven away the light in his life to appease that fear. How could he call himself a warrior if he allowed himself to be such a coward? 

“Have you told her this? Have you spoken to her of your fears?” Frigga asked finally. Thor hung his head, not willing to look at his mother any longer. Even when he heard her stand, even when he felt her hand on his head, he did not raise his eyes to look at her. He could not face the shame he was certain was on her face. 

“Fear is not something to be ashamed of. Everyone feels it. You must be scared to be brave. The only shame to be had is to not face that fear and rise above it. Speak to her. Be honest about your fears, and see where it takes you. And apologize for not telling her sooner, for causing such hurt in her heart that it called to me.” Frigga spoke softly. 

When Thor raised his eyes to look at her, she was gone. Only the sound of the door closing left behind. He was glad for it as he reached up and covered his mouth with a hand to muffle the sobs. He did nothing to stem the tears that dripped from his face onto the stone floor. 


	3. Chapter 3

Elena tensed when the door to her chambers opened. She was sitting at her vanity preparing for dinner and she couldn’t think of who it could be that would come in without knocking. The person who appeared in her mirror was the last one she’d thought to see standing behind her. 

Thor had disappeared from court the same day he’d come to her in the garden. She hadn’t asked after him, but Heimdall had come to her to tell her that the Avengers had called for his assistance. She’d thanked the Guardian and had tried to keep the worry out of her heart when Thor had not returned a week later. 

Elena had not heard that Thor had returned. Yet, here he was. Looking, if possible, worse than he had in her garden. Though, that may have something to do with the blackened eye and the bandage visible on his arm. 

Coming to her feet, Elena went to him, reaching up to touch his cheek. Her hand stopped before it came into contact with his skin, however. Just the smell of him had her heart jumping in her throat. She had not been this close to him since the garden, and it brought too many emotions to the surface. 

“What happened?” She asked, dropping her hand to her side and taking a step away from him. Thor stared at her for a long moment before his hand came up to cup her cheek. She wanted to lean into that touch, wanted so badly to fall into his arms and let all of it go. Instead, she pulled away, turned her back on him and returned to her vanity once more. 

“The Hulk was not pleased when he found out about what I have done to you. It is far less than I deserve,” Thor said. He did not follow her across the room, instead, he sat on the end of the bed and watched as she began to pin her hair up. The silence stretched between them until Elena opened her mouth to ask why he was there. 

“I am… scared. And a coward for allowing my fears to cause such hurt.” Thor said. His words were not what she expected to hear from him. They stilled her hands when she reached for another pin. Looking at him in her mirror she found a broken man. He sat with his hands dangling between his knees, his head hung. 

“What are you scared of?” She asked. Her heart beat a hard rhythm in her chest as she watched him. Still, he did not look at her, simply stared at his hands. 

“I am scared that carrying my child will kill you. You are mortal, though our soulbond has extended your lifespan far beyond those of Midgard. I am scared that I am not ready to be King. Father has been very clear that he waiting only for us to marry before he steps down. I am scared that my own cowardice will cost me you at my side.” Thor said. His voice was so broken. She watched as the last of the sunlight caught on a tear as it fell from his face. It shown like a diamond for a moment before it splashed against his hand. 

She wanted to go to him, to dry the tears before any more fell, to leave all the hurt and the pain behind. But she was frozen in place. What was she to say to such fears? She was mortal, there was nothing she could do to change the fact that she had been born on Midgard. As for Odin stepping down, she was not ready to be Queen either. Thor had been raised his entire life to be King, she was just the woman who the Norn’s had given to him. And perhaps that was enough, but it was a fear that they shared. 

“Why didn’t you tell me any of this before?” It was not what she had been planning on saying to him, but perhaps it was what mattered the most to her. They were meant to be partners, to be equals in this relationship. She had shared everything but the hurt he’d caused with him. All of her fears of being thrust into the role of Princess, of being expected to be Queen one day. Thor knew of how out of place she felt here on Asgard. Yet he had not spoken to her of the fears he felt. 

“I… do not know.” Thor finally said. She’d never looked away from his reflection, and the look of devastation on his face when he finally raised his head to look at her had her swallowing a gasp. Once again she had to fight the urge to go to him, to comfort him. There was too much distance between them for that. Too many unspoken words. 

“That’s not a good enough answer, Thor,” Elena said. She hated herself for it, but it was the truth and she was done hiding from him. Emotion flickered over his face, but he only sighed in the end. 

“You are right. It is not good enough. But it is the only answer I have for you. I truly do not know why I have not told you before now. Perhaps if I had, I would not have hurt you. Perhaps if I had been paying more attention to you, and less to my own fears I would have seen what I was doing before it drove you away.” Thor said. 

Elena studied him in the mirror, trying to figure out what she could say to him. He had hurt her, he had driven her away. 

“I did not want this Thor. I do not like this distance between us. I was supposed to be your partner. You were supposed to be the last person to hurt me.” Elena said. When Thor hung his head again, she sighed. Reaching for a pin, she returned to her hair. Dinner would start soon, and it did not appear that they were going to get anywhere with this. 

“I do not deserve your forgiveness. I cannot even bring myself to ask for it. I can only offer you an apology for the hurt I’ve caused.” Thor murmured. His voice was closer than before, and when she looked away from her hair she found him kneeling behind her. Swallowing past the lump in her throat that his nearness caused, she let him take the hairpin from her. His touch was gentle as he finished her hair for her. 

“Will you… allow me to try again? I cannot erase what has passed between us, but perhaps I can do better, given a chance. I know I do not deserve it, but I am asking for it.” Thor asked, meeting her eyes in the mirror once he was done. Elena looked at him for a long time as she tried to decide if her heart could handle it. He’d broken her heart in a way that may never heal, but she loved him still. 

Elena thought back to these last weeks, to the loneliness she’d felt without him being there. To the pity she had seen on too many faces as she sat next to Frigga instead of Thor. To the whispered words of perhaps Thor had finally set his Midgardian plaything aside. 

“I cannot forgive you for what you’ve done, Thor. And an apology does not fix it. But perhaps it is a place to start. Please, I beg you, do not hurt me again.” Elena whispered, tears filling her eyes as she looked at him. He stood and took a step away from the stool. When he offered his hand to her, she hesitated before she laid her own in his. He helped her to her feet before bowing to her. 

“I will do everything in my power to never hurt you again, elska min.” He murmured. Elena watched, her heart in her throat as he turned her hand over and pressed a gentle kiss to the rune on her wrist. The tears spilled over when he straightened, a look of such hope on his face. He did not let go of her hand, only lifted his other to cup her cheek. She let herself lean into the touch this time, closing her eyes as her grip on the soulbond loosened. Love and regret flowed down it in equal measure. 

“Please, elska min, your tears slay me.” Thor’s soft voice came again, just before his lips pressed to her forehead. Opening her eyes, she looked up at him and felt a small piece of her heart mend. He was trying, and that’s all she could really ask of him. 

***

Elena sat beside Thor at dinner that night, having to evict Loki from the chair when they arrived. He went without question, though he gave her a long look before standing. He whispered something to Thor before he left, something that she could not hear. Thor only nodded and clasped Loki’s wrist when the other offered it. Thor pushed her chair in once she was settled and then sat to her right once more. 

Dinner was quiet that night. Or at least, Thor and Elena were quiet as they ate. The others at the table did not intrude on their thoughts. When the last of the food was gone from their plates and Odin called for entertainment, Elena sighed. She was not up for it tonight. Leaning closer to Thor she whispered to him. 

“I am going to retire.” 

He stood from his chair at her words and pulled hers out for her. She expected him to say goodnight there, but he walked her back to the chambers they had once shared. When they reached it, she half expected him to join her. Instead, he bowed over her hand, pressed another kiss to her soulmark and bid her goodnight. 

She watched him walk away with conflicted feelings. Half of her was glad that he was not pushing her, but the other half missed him in her bed. Missed falling asleep in his arms. Sighing, she went in and got ready for bed. A bed that was too large, and too cold when she finally crawled into it. 

It wasn’t until nearly another week had passed before Elena realized what was happening. Thor was courting her. He had asked for another chance with her, but she had not realized that he was asking for them to start over. 

He joined her on walks in the gardens, took her on a picnic lunch. Did all the things that he had done at the beginning of their relationship. There were small gifts, flowers, and furs. Love letters, and poems. 

Elena dried the flowers, placing them in the box that already held a wealth of them. The furs went on her bed, along with the others he’d already given her. The love letters and poems went into the chest at the foot of the bed. 

When the first piece of jewelry came she finally said something. 

“You do not have to do this,” She murmured, even as she turned and lifted her hair so he could clasp the necklace for her. It was a beautiful piece, a heavy golden chain that cascaded down her chest. It was simple compared to some of the other ones he’d given her, but she loved it all the same. 

“I know I do not. I want to. And I know that gifts will not fix everything, but you deserve them.” Thor said. She swallowed to wet a suddenly dry throat when he kissed the back of her neck. 

“Thank you. It’s beautiful.” She said when he stepped back around her. His smile took her breath away. 

They spent hours talking, hidden away in the library or going for long rides into the forest outside the city. Thor spoke of his fears of being King, of not feeling ready for the responsibility of the throne. She finally told him of the whispers of the court, of how at first she had been able to ignore them. Admitted to how much it had hurt to think that he agreed with them. He had been so angry when she’d said it, but he had assured her it wasn’t her that he was angry with. They hid nothing from each other, no matter how much it hurt the other to say such things. 

The truth shared between them did much to close the distance they’d allowed to build between them.

Elena didn’t know when she’d stopped being grateful for his insistence on taking it slow. Couldn’t pinpoint the moment when she began to want him to go further. It was like the beginning all over again, standing at her chamber doors as he walked away and regretting that he did. It felt so much worse this time, as the days passed and still he did nothing more than kiss her wrist or her forehead. She knew what it was like to be with him, had spent years in his bed, in his arms. His affection was hers once more, but she wanted more. 

Yet, every time she opened her mouth to tell him she wanted more she stopped. Every time she opened her mouth to invite him into her chambers after dinner, the memory of that pain would rise back up and choke her. Elena had to wonder if it would ever stop making her hesitate to give him everything once more. 


	4. Chapter 4

The sun wasn’t particularly warm as it came through the windows of Frigga’s study, but it was bright enough to keep them from having to light the lamps. Asgard had woken that morning to a blanket of snow on the ground. It had surprised Elena, not realizing that winter was upon them once again.

Had it really been so many months since their fight? Had she really spent so long alone in her bed?

Midday found her here, with Frigga and the other ladies. She was knitting, something that had fascinated the other ladies the first time they’d seen her do it. Apparently, knitting wasn’t something that Asgardians ladies did. Elena had scoffed at them when they’d claimed it was peasant work. They’d shut up quickly when they saw the shawl she’d made for Frigga.

That very shawl was wrapped around the queen’s shoulders as she worked on her embroidery. Elena’s current project was a baby blanket for one of the other ladies, one that she was very nearly done with. She’d managed to hide her jealousy of the woman, barely. Frigga had given Elena a look of understanding when she’d announced her pregnancy, but Elena had managed a smile and congratulations. She may want that for herself, but she would never begrudge another woman such a gift.

The door banging open drew everyone’s attention. Thor stormed into the room, a bloody rag pressed to his shoulder, Loki trailing behind him. Elena gasped and set her knitting aside.

“What happened?” She asked as she rushed to Thor’s side. Carefully, she peeled the rag away from the wound and sighed. A knife from the looks of it.

“Loki.” Was all Thor said. Elena looked to the Trickster to find him lounging in the chair she’d left, studying her knitting.

“I warned him what would happen if he did not fix it, Little Sister. He should have heeded my warning.” Loki said, setting the blanket down carefully. It had taken only once for him to learn not to mess up her work. She’d smacked him over the head with one of her needles when he’d dropped several stitches off one. When she’d been unable to fix it, she’d made him unravel the work and roll the yarn back into a ball. Without magic. He’d been careful of her knitting ever since.

“Ladies, if you’ll excuse us?” Frigga’s soft request made Elena hold her tongue. The other ladies looked between each member of the family as they filed out. When the door closed behind the last one, Elena rounded on Loki.

“Loki, mine and Thor’s relationship is none of your concern.” She snarled. Loki came to his feet at her words and advanced on her. Something about the thunderous expression on his face had Thor pulling her away and stepping between them.

“It is my concern so long as this great buffon is still sleeping on the floor of my chambers. And so long as you are still in pain.” Loki spits the words out, glaring at his brother from less than a foot away. Elena sighed and rolled her eyes.

“If you are so concerned about Thor sleeping in your chambers, then he can come back to mine. But I stand by my words, Loki. Our relationship is none of your concern.” Elena said. Stepping back to Thor’s side, she peeled the rag away a second time to find that the wound had already stopped bleeding.

Soft green light glowed over the wound, and when it faded his skin was smooth once more. Thor looked down at his shoulder and dropped his hand to his side, the rag clenched in his fist. Rolling his shoulder, he tested the muscle.

“Thank you, Mother.” He said, before turning his gaze back to Loki. Elena felt the Berserker rage try to rise in Thor before it faded. Still, lightening filled Thor’s eyes, snapped between his fingers. It lasted only a moment before it stopped.

“Take care, Brother. I do not take kindly to your interference in my relationship. If your plan had backfired, I would have taken a pound of flesh in payment for it.” Thor said. His voice was icy calm, but that bit of lightning was enough to have Loki taking a step in retreat. Thor turned from Loki then, giving his brother his back as he looked to Elena.

“Thor?” She asked, concerned for his relationship with Loki. It still seemed so fragile after everything that had happened. Thor gave her a strained smile, even as he cupped her elbow and urged her away from where Frigga and Loki were now talking in hushed voices.

“Are you certain about me returning to… your chambers?” Thor asked. He kept his voice low, so it did not carry to the others in the room. Elena studied him for a long time, wondering at the hesitation in his voice. Wondering at why he’d spent the last six months sleeping on the floor of Loki’s chambers instead of moving into some of his own.

“If I had known you were sleeping on Loki’s floor, I would have had you come back long ago. Why did you not move into chambers of your own?” Elena asked. Thor looked away from her, and she was surprised to see a blush heating his cheeks.

“I… thought it would be… too final. That moving into another set of chambers would mean there was no chance of ever being back in ours.” His voice was small, and it made Elena shake her head. When he finally looked back to her, she rocked up on her toes and pressed a soft kiss to his lips.

“Silly man. Come home, please.” Elena murmured against his lips. He hesitated before he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her to him. When he finally returned the kiss, it left her dizzy with its intensity. He didn’t try to deepen it, simply poured all the love and happiness in his heart into the kiss and into their bond.

Elena pulled away first, gasping in a deep breath. He lowered her back to her feet gently, dropping his arms to take her hands in his. Once she’d caught her breath, she grinned up at him.

“No wonder Loki got all stab happy. He’s had to listen to your snoring for six months.” She said. Thor looked affronted by the accusation, and she slipped away as he gaped at her.

“I do not snore, Woman!” He called as she walked back to her seat. She wanted to finish this blanket today.

“You do too snore, Brother,” Loki said. He didn’t look away from the book he was reading, nor did he move from where he was lounging on a couch. He only licked a finger and turned the page.

Settling back into her chair, Elena smiled at Thor when he slumped to the floor at her feet. After a moment Loki glanced up at Elena, a questioning look on his face. Was he forgiven? Elena glared for a moment before rolling her eyes and nodding.

“Like a stuffed up bilgesnipe. Has since he was a child,” Frigga said, grinning when Thor squawked in indignation. The last of the tension that had filled the room when the brothers had stormed in disappeared when Thor finally chuckled. The others joined him in laughter and the rest of the afternoon disappeared as they spent time together.

***

That night, when dinner was over, Thor hesitated at the door of Elena’s chambers. She looked up at him but didn’t rush him. When he finally stepped over the threshold and closed the door behind him, she let out the breath she hadn’t realized she’d been holding. Some part of her had been convinced that he wouldn’t come back, that he would kiss her goodnight at the door and leave as he had every night for six months.

They didn’t talk as they got dressed for bed, didn’t say a word until they were curled up in bed once more. For the first time in too long, it wasn’t too big or too cold when Elena crawled into it. When she finally settled against him, her back cradled against his broad chest, it felt like coming home again.

“I’m glad you’re back,” Elena whispered, her eyes feeling heavy as his body heat seeped into her. Thor let out a deep breath against her back, his arm coming around her waist to hold her close.

“As am I.” His breath was warm against her ear. She laid her hand over his arm around her middle and let herself fall asleep.

***

Elena woke warm and comfortable the next morning. But when she rolled to curl closer to Thor, she found his side of the bed empty. Her mind was slow to understand why she felt nothing when she reached across the sheets.

When her sleep-mussed mind finally understood, fear made her heart skip a beat in her chest. Had it been a dream? Had she dreamed that she’d fallen asleep next to Thor once again? But the sheets were warm, and there was a depression in the pillow. He’d been there.

Where was he now? Had he regretted spending the night here? Did he not want to be here anymore?

Soft voices from the door drew her attention and she carefully sat up, holding the covers to her chest as she looked in that direction.

Thor stood at the open door in the soft sleep pants he’d slept in, waving a servant in with a tray. From the smell that wafted across the room, it was breakfast. The heady scent of bread fresh from the oven came to her nose and helped her relax back onto the bed. She watched the servant place the tray on the table and then bow before they left.

As soon as the door was closed Thor turned to the bed and saw she was awake.

“Good morning, _elska min_.” He murmured as he crawled back into the bed. Elena offered him a smile as he sat on his knees next to her. When his hand slid into her hair to cup the back of her head she groaned and let her eyes close.

“Good morning, Beloved.” She whispered. Excitement burst down the bond and she sighed happily. When Thor used his grip on her head to urge her up, she went easily. His kiss was gentle and seeking when it landed on her lips. She sluggishly ran her arms around his neck, clinging to him as best she could in her sleepy state.

Time stopped having any kind of meaning for her as he kissed her. The scent of his skin fresh from bed and the slow slide of his lips against hers was drugging, fogging her mind and quieting her heart. By the time he finally pulled away and lowered her back to the mattress she simply melted into it, her whole body relaxed.

“I felt your fear and confusion, _elska min_. What went through your mind when you woke?” He whispered, settling onto his side next to her. Elena cracked her eyes open to look at him, propped up on his elbow above her.

“I… thought it had been a dream at first. That you’d stayed here last night. But the sheets were warm. Then I… I’m sorry. I thought you’d left again.” She murmured, swallowing hard. Thor’s chest expanded as he took a deep breath, letting it out in a slow stream as he stared at the wall. Trying to figure out how to reply? The bond was humming between them, but she couldn’t parse out what she was feeling from his end.

“I am sorry. I do not think I will ever be able to say it enough. I regret everything I’ve ever done to make your first thought be that I had left you again.” Thor said. Elena looked up at him, wanting to comfort him until that crease between his eyebrows smoothed away. But she didn’t know how. She didn’t know what she could do to fix all of this regret and guilt and pain between them. When she opened her mouth, she half expected that pain to choke her again, to keep the words from leaving her throat. Yet it didn’t, the words came easily and she could have cried at how relieved she was.

“Thor, make love with me.” She whispered. When his eyes widened and locked with hers, she smiled for him. This was what she wanted. She wanted everything with him again.

“Elena, are you certain?” Thor asked. His hand shook as it came to rest against her belly, and she shivered. Even through her nightgown and the covers, the weight of his hand had heat pooling under it.

“I don’t think I can forgive you for what happened, but I’m done letting it come between us. I want you, I’ve missed you. Please, Beloved.” She said, putting as much conviction in her voice as she could muster. It seemed to be all he needed.

Thor came down over her, the hand on her belly sliding off the other side of her to help support his weight on that elbow. None of his weight rested on her, but she felt surrounded by him. Safe for the first time in too long. Her hands came up to his chest, not holding him away from her, simply touching. His skin was so warm under her hands, his lips soft against hers as he kissed her again.

She expected hard and deep. Thor kissed her gently, slowly. When she tilted her head and tried to deepen it, a rumble of thunder came from his chest and she relented. Instead, she stroked her hands up his chest so that she could wind her arms around his neck. One hand went to his hair, finger combing it, while the other caressed over his back and shoulder. It had been so long since she’d been able to touch freely.

Cool air slipped through her nightgown when Thor braced himself on one elbow and pulled the covers away from her body. Gooseflesh spread over her skin and her nipples tightened at the chill. She whimpered, but it dissolved into a moan when his hand came up to lay over her throat. The touch was so gentle as he stroked down her body, between her breasts and down her belly.

Elena pulled away from the kiss to suck in a lung full of air when he gripped her thin nightgown and dragged it up her legs. Blinking her eyes open, she looked up into his to find them dark with lust, only a thin ring of blue around his pupils. She shivered when the back of his fingers brushed against her belly, gasped when his hand turned and his rough palm smoothed over her skin.

“I have missed touching you, _elska min_.” Thor murmured. He leaned down and pressed an open-mouthed kiss to her shoulder. Elena pressed up into his touch as his hand slid up toward her breasts. But he didn’t touch them. Instead, he pressed his hand between her breasts. It was big enough to cover the entirety of her sternum, his thumb laid along her ribs under her breast. Elena relaxed when the pressure of his hand increased, relaxing back into the bed at his gentle insistence.

“Thor, please! Touch me!” Elena whimpered when he continued to pepper open-mouthed kisses over her shoulder and upper chest, his hand staying where it was. His beard tickled against her skin, his breath raising gooseflesh on her skin where it spilled over her.

She whined when he lifted his head away from her skin to look down at her. Still, his hand didn’t move, just kept holding her down against the mattress.

“Hush, _elska min_ , I am touching you,” Thor said. His voice was dark and deep, thunder disguised as words. Just the sound of it had her moaning as sticky heat pooled between her thighs. His lips were back on her skin, pressing more kisses to her shoulder. He nudged her chin with his nose and she arched her neck to give him access. Thor trailed his lips across her skin, from her collarbone to the pulse fluttering in the throat.

Elena cried out when he sucked harshly at that racing beat at the same time he finally, finally cupped her breast in his hand. The fabric of her nightgown dragged across her nipple, sending a bolt of arousal to her clit. Another shot of heat ran through her when his thumb came up to rub across the hard point.

She opened her mouth to beg again, needing more from him. His mouth came down over hers instead. Elena went limp at the first brush of his tongue against hers. She wanted so much more, wanted all of it. She knew her soulmate, knew that he would give it to her, but at his own pace. So she forced herself to relax into his touch and let him have his way.

It was as if he was waiting for that, waiting for her to stop pushing him. Because as soon as the last of the tension ran from her body, he pulled away and sat up. Elena whined, her eyes snapping open to look at him.

Thor shushed her gently, his fingers going to the tie at the front of her nightgown. It took only a couple of tugs before it came loose and she sat up when he urged her to. With help from Thor she shed the thin blue fabric, watching it slither off the edge of the bed to the floor. His hand dug into her hair, cupping the back of her head and neck. She went willingly as he crowded her back down to the bed, his lips sealed to hers once more.

This was what she’d expected in the first kiss, deep and hard as his teeth nipped at her lips. He held himself above her on his elbow, his hand flexing in her hair as his other explored. A brush of fingertips down her throat, over her collarbone then down. His rough palm glided over one of her nipples, the calluses forcing a moan out of her throat. One that Thor swallowed.

She tossed her head to the side to breathe when he pinched her nipple between his fingers, tugging gently on it. He didn’t seem disappointed that she’d broken their kissing, not when his mouth dropped to her throat again. Elena was panting, her body one big throbbing nerve as he nipped at her skin and tugged on her nipple a second time.

Needing to touch him, she lifted her hands from where they’d fallen to the pillows on either side of her head. Thor growled against her skin at the movement and she dropped them back to pillows. He hummed happily this time, his lips trailing over her chest.

Elena cried out when he sucked her neglected nipple into his mouth, his tongue swirling around the hard bead. She tried to lay still for him, but she found her thighs rubbing together, trying to relieve some of the pressure building in her core. Her wrists rolled and she gripped fistfuls of the pillows under her head, something to remind herself not to touch.

Oh, how she wanted to touch, how she wanted to clutch his head to her chest and arch into his mouth as he played. How she wanted to push him onto his back and touch all of that gorgeous flesh.

Thor scraped her nipple with his teeth and she cried out his name. His hand stroked down her ribs and over her flank at the sound, gripping her knee. He used his hold on her to pull her legs apart enough to set his knee between them. Elena’s thighs were trembling, her chest heaving against him as he continued to torment her breast.

She felt a little wild, a little out of control. He was playing her body like an instrument, her sounds of pleasure the music he was creating. The pleasure rippled through her, a heady drug that scorched through her veins and drove every thought from her mind.

A tugging at her right hand made her open her eyes. Thor had her wrist in his hand, pulling on it to get her to let go of the pillow. It took a moment for her brain to catch on, but eventually, she let go and laced her fingers with his. Their soulmarks pressed together at the same instant that his thigh ground against her core.

An orgasm she hadn’t realized was close detonated in her womb. Her scream of Thor’s name echoed off the walls as her thighs clamped around his and her back arched. It seemed to go on forever, wave after wave of pleasure rushing through her body as she convulsed against him. Finally, she went limp, gulping air through a throat that felt raw from her screams.

Elena felt Thor move her, but her body and mind were still floating in the aftermath of one of the most intense orgasms she’d ever had. When her mind cleared, a little at a time, she found herself draped over Thor’s chest. Her knee was between his legs, the hot line of his erection pressed into her hip. Their fingers were still laced together, their soulmarks pressed against each other. His other hand was stroking along her back, soothing her as she trembled.

It took her a moment to realize the sound that was vibrating under her ear was him humming. A soft tune that she was unfamiliar with. Elena smiled, turning her head to look up at him. He returned the smile, the humming stopping when she lifted her head.

“Are you back with me, _elska min_?” He asked softly. She hummed, nodding as best she could with her chin propped up on his chest.

“What were you humming?” She asked, tilting her chin to kiss his chest. Thor’s hand had stilled when she’d lifted her head, but now it stroked over her spine again, coming down to cup her ass gently.

“Just a song that’s stuck in my head. Do you think I am done with you, Elena?” Thor murmured. She gasped and giggled when he rolled them over again. It took only a little shifting to have her wrapping her legs around his hips, yet he still did not let go of her hand. Though he rolled his hand enough that he was supporting his weight on his knuckles. His other hand was flat against the mattress next to her head.

His lips were on her pulse point again, sucking at the flesh. She knew he was leaving a mark, knew that it would be too high on her neck to cover. Yet, she couldn’t bring herself to care even a little bit. She liked having his mark on her, liked everyone to know exactly who she belonged to.

“Thor… please…” Elena whimpered. When he ignored her, she snuck her left hand up over his ribs. Where she dug her nails into the meat of his back and dragged them down. Thor snarled, his head coming up, his eyes tightly closed. At the edge of her vision she saw the tent in his sleep pants jump. His chest heaved as he panted, his jaw ticking as he worked through the sensations her nails had spun through him. Elena grinned a little wickedly, knowing that her soulmate liked the edge of her nails.

“Woman… I am trying to be gentle with you,” Thor groundout. When his eyes finally opened they were intense. Elena only ran the tip of her tongue over her top lip as she looked at him through her lashes.

“What if I don’t want you to be gentle?” She asked. Thor stared at her for a long moment, and she knew he was weighing her words. Finally, he sighed and tried to sit back on his heels. She whined and tightened her grip on his hand when he went to pull away.

“My pants, Elena. I have to take them off to give you what you want,” Thor murmured, lowering himself enough to press a quick kiss to her lips. She pouted, but she let him take his hand away, letting her legs drop to the mattress. She should have felt exposed like that, naked and spread open, but she didn’t.

Elena felt powerful as he looked her over. He licked his lips, even as his hands were busy pulling the knot out of the drawstring of his pants. She expected him to pull them off entirely, but he didn’t. He pushed them down enough that his erection came free of the fabric and let them pool around his knees.

Her mouth watered at the sight of him there above her. The weak morning light backlit him in with a gentle glow. Casting deep shadows in the ridges and grooves of all that hard muscle. His cock hung heavy between his legs; thick, long and hard enough to drool.

When she was finally able to tear her eyes away from his dick, she found a smirk on his lips. Grinning cheekily at him, she lifted her hands to cup her breasts. Teasing him as her thumbs came up to brush over her nipples. He retaliated by gripping the inside of her thighs close to her core. Thor smoothed his thumbs along her slit gently, stopping before he touched her clit. Elena moaned when he curled one thumb to spread her open and used the other to spread her slick through her folds.

Elena whined when the pad of his thumb brushed over her clit, a gentle touch that had her clenching around nothing. Rocking her head back, she let her eyes slide closed as she pinched her nipples gently. She whimpered when that pressure on her clit disappeared, but moaned when something heavier pressed over her core. He teased her with his cock as he slicked himself with her own juices, thrusting the length of it over her for what felt like an eternity. Every time the ridge of his foreskin scraped over her clit her hips twitched, pressing closer to that contact.

Finally, that ridge slid down and down and down until his cock head caught at her entrance. He was thick, and she hadn’t had more than her own fingers inside her for months, so the stretch as he pressed ever so slowly into her was intense. His hands were still on her thighs, holding her open for him as he made short little thrusts, easing his way inside her. Slitting her eyes open, she looked down between her breasts and watched as he disappeared inside her an inch at a time.

She found that he was watching as well when she was able to tear her eyes away from where they were joined. His bottom lip was caught between his teeth, his eyebrows furrowed as he concentrated on being gentle. A particularly hard thrust had him hilting inside her, and it punched a curse out of her. Her hands dropped to his on her thighs, and he shifted enough to intertwine their fingers, his thumbs pressing bruises into her flesh.

“Elena?” Thor asked. His voice was wrecked, deep and husky and strained. She stared up into his face as she panted, trying to breathe through the burning stretch of him inside her. She opened her mouth to tell him she was okay, just give her a minute, but only a whine came out. When she tried again and the same happened, she gave up and nodded to him.

Thor’s breath rushed out in a sigh, and a little of the tension he held in his shoulders relaxed. Moving carefully, he dropped down over her, landing on his elbows. His forehead came down to rest against hers.

“I do not want to hurt you, not ever again,” he whispered.

“You’re not hurting me.” She could hardly breathe with the sheer fullness of it, but there was no pain. Only growing need. Lifting her legs, she hooked her heels behind his muscled thighs, tugged at him. Encouraging him to move. And move he did, slowly at first, just gentle rocking of his hips. They lit her body on fire as she could feel every inch of him slide over her sensitive inner walls.

He built momentum from there, thrusts growing longer and faster as she lifted her arms around his neck. When his first full thrust caused a twinge of too much she dropped her heels, settling the bottom of her feet on his calves. He couldn’t go as deep now, but his pelvic bone rubbed against her clit, sending her careening toward bliss again with each thrust.

Elena didn’t know who started the kiss, but she was perfectly happy to wallow in the sensations he was creating as they kissed slow and soft. Emotions built between them, the soulbond humming with pleasure and happiness as they moved together. Their moans mingled along with their breath as time slipped away.

The pressure built almost languidly in her core, a pressure that didn’t explode in the end. Instead, it melted, filled her body with liquid honey as the pleasure spiked inside her. It was intense but gentle. Thor grunted as her walls tightened around him, his thrusts becoming uneven as he chased his own end. His fight to thrust through her milking walls extended the pleasure out, each thrust sending another wave of heat through her.

He finished on a deep thrust, where he stilled inside her. His cock swelled impossibly harder and throbbed inside her as he let out a deep rumbling groan. Elena clung to him, trembling at the vastness of the emotions she was feeling from him. His love for her was so big, so endless that it brought tears to her eyes. They spilled down her temples into her hair, her breath hitching but no sobs came.

Thor tensed above her at the first stuttering of her breath, lifting his head enough to see her properly. When he tried to pull away she only held him tighter, her legs coming up to wrap around his hips to hold him inside her. Her nails dug into his shoulders as she clutched at him.

“Elena, _elska min_ , what is wrong?” He asked. She bit her lip and shook her head, even as he shifted his weight to one arm so he could reach up to brush the tears from her face. After a few moments of him studying her face, the worry faded from their bond and he gave her a soft smile.

She smiled for him, knowing he’d realized it was just another form of release. When he leaned down again and kissed her she loosened her grip on him. Dropping her feet to the mattress, she let him pull away as the last of the tears dried up. Hissing just a little at the feeling, she knew she was going to be sore. But it was a good kind of sore, one that she welcomed.

Thor settled on his side next to her, back in the position he’d been in before. Propped up on his elbow with his hand on her belly. The first contact of his fingers against her skin made her heart trip in her chest, but she squashed the fear that rose at it.

“Hush, I promised not to hurt you again,” Thor murmured, rubbing his thumb over her sweaty stomach. She nodded slowly, reaching down to twine her fingers with his. Though she knew she needed to clean up, knew that she should eat the food that was waiting for them, Elena let herself relax into the mattress instead.

Elena knew that there was still work ahead of them. Knew that they would have to work together to keep the past from repeating itself. They had spent far too many years alone, not telling others of their innermost fears. It was a hard habit to break, and it was one that they had to work on. Their relationship was messy and imperfect, and they would have to be there for each other as they moved forward. The past would never be gone, she didn’t know if she’d ever be able to forgive him. Just as he didn’t know if he could forgive her for allowing him to hurt her. Yet, this was a beginning, perhaps the beginning they should have had years ago. They were wiser now, were more aware of the other and of themselves than before.

“I love you, Beloved,” Elena said.

“I love you too, _elska min_.”

 

**Author's Note:**

> Translations:  
> elska min - My Love


End file.
